


Drive For Love.Exe

by Squigsly



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-11-18 11:57:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18120356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squigsly/pseuds/Squigsly
Summary: Sorry for the shorter chapter (i think it's short? idk), I promise to make the next longer. If you have any questions, my tumblr is @bruhnea





	1. Chapter 1

It had all started with a simple grin. That stupid, arrogant grin of Jack’s. Handsome. Fucking. Jack. 

 

Had Rhys known what was going to happen, he more than likely would have tried to skip town, or just leave the state altogether. And yet, he had been willed to stay.

 

“Handsome” Jack O’Connell was the infamous CEO of the  _ Hyperion  _ company after the last CEO had just seemed to… die. Of unknown causes other than the theorized heart attack (which, honestly, no one really cared since the guy was like a hundred and a huge, narcissistic asshole). Jack took office, and things had definitely changed. For the better, or worse, Rhys was still unsure. 

 

The pros of having Jack as the CEO meant the man expanded the company all over the globe, from Tanzania to god damn Vancouver. But, that also meant the whole company changed due to the new locations. 

 

See, originally,  _ Hyperion _ had only been an engineering company, helping technology advance and help the third world countries develop to be decent. But now,  _ Hyperion _ was mass-producing weapons, outsourcing all the popular weapon brands out there. Hell, even  _ Dahl _ , the recent number one had been surpassed tenfold by  _ Hyperion _ . All because the weapons were better, cheaper and a hell of a lot more powerful. 

 

Jack was at the top of it all. The man even owned the best science program in the world,  _ Atlas _ . How the man had managed the get his paws on the certificate of ownership was beyond anyone, but no one bothered to question him, since it seemed that any man or woman that questioned him, or even  _ looked  _ wrongly at him, that employee would mysteriously disappear. Rhys liked to think they were just fired, and he  _ really  _ hoped he was right.

 

Now, Rhys was just a normal intern. Started working a few years after Jack had taken the reigns of the company. He had to say, he never saw the man in person. Only in magazines, talk shows, news and the occasional online paparazzi picture. The CEO seemed to spend most of his time in meetings, his office, or in the engineering labs (rumor has it that the guy was actually an engineer before becoming CEO, but it seemed so long ago that no one thought it was the truth anymore). 

 

So yeah, Rhys had been working a few years after, however he’s been working for about five years total, being at the age of twenty-eight. His best friend was an accountant for the same company, though the only time they could really talk and hang out was after work hours, or during lunch breaks. But, Vaughn was pretty cool about it. They liked to complain about work every now and then (even though Rhys had been jobless for a good while, and was more grateful for the job than anything).

 

Though, it seemed that fate had some other plan than for him to just live his life as that one-armed intern from Western New York.

 

See, it had begun when he was called into the office of a coworker, who told him they needed a subject to test some new technology. Something about the brain being a computer or something. 

 

“It would be double the pay.” And that was all it took for Rhys to agree and take the paperwork home to fill out.


	2. Chapter 2

“Er.. Hello..?” 

 

Rhys looked to the dark hallway, a bit tense. He had been told to go down to the labs, but he had never been there, and definitely not so early in the morning (it wasn’t even five yet).

 

The hallways were dark due to the lights being off, though the glow through the cracks of some double-doors caught his attention, and with his left arm hugging the packets of paperwork he signed and filled out, he made his way down, his shoes clacking uncomfortably loud against the tiled floor. 

 

Then, he was at the doors. Two little windows exposed what was within, and the man was rather surprised at the amount of people working, seeing them bustle about. Some were testing machinery, some were going over calculations, however many seemed to be huddled around one particular engineer.

 

Rhys nearly shat himself when he saw him. Jack.

 

Jack was grinning ear-to-ear, talking and gesturing towards something beside him, something other scientists were blocking. And because Jack was tall and facing the door, Rhys was quick to be discovered. Jack’s grin only seemed to broaden. 

 

Flustered, Rhys ducked under the window, eyes wide and cheeks hot. Shit. Shit! He hadn’t expected to get to meet  _ the _ Jack O’Connell.

 

The male jumped as one of the doors opened, and he straightened quickly, gaze looking right into the mismatched eyes of his boss. His jaw seemed to drop, and he quickly averted his gaze.

 

“S-Sir I um-- I didn’t know you were-- I c-came to bring these--” 

 

“Alright, alright. Jesus cupcake, you don’t gotta crap yourself.” The man’s laugh was heard, and Rhys only seemed to grow a bit more red, looking to his boss properly now.

 

“Name?”

 

“Uh.. Rhys, sir..”

 

“... Is that what you’re going to wear for the surgery?” Jack seemed to judge, though Rhys really couldn’t blame him, considering he had been tired as all hell and in a rush. He was in dark sweatpants and a sweater, and Rhys just nodded meekly.

 

“Right… well c’mon. Everyone’s waitin’ to get started. Gotta drill that hole in your head at some point.” Jack mused, turning on his heel and pushing both doors open. The thin man blinked, before quickly scurrying after him.

 

“W-Wait  _ what _ ? You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking..”

 

Jack only seemed to glance back with that grin, and Rhys just nearly felt his heart stop. Suddenly, he didn’t really care  _ what _ Jack did to him.


	3. Chapter 3

“Alright, I assume you read what’s gonna be goin’ on while you’re        in a medicated coma?”

 

Jack began, arms crossed as Rhys sat, shirtless on some sort of operating table. The man felt cold, nervous about the way Jack was looking at him, but he shook his head.

 

“Not really.. I heard “increased pay” and that was it.” The CEO only sighed and shook his head, eyes running over the tattoo that covered the employee’s left arm, before looking to the scarred skin of where his right arm used to be.

 

“Alright, then I guess I’ll have to explain it.”

 

Jack went to grab a chair, sitting on it with his front facing the back, arms crossing on the back of the chair.

 

“So. The human brain is a whole mess of things. Emotions, thoughts, organ function, nerves, you name it, the brain probably does it, or at least runs it in the body. Stores information, even information you probably don’t even realize. Like a car’s license, or someone sneaking something to someone else out of the corner of your eye. Hell, you’ve probably seen someone give a public blow--”

 

“Okay, okay. Point?”

 

“Right, yeah. The brain, in short, is like a friggin’ computer. Carries energy, stores information, and can even command just like one. The brain is a powerful thing, and we’re tryin’ to make it better. Which means you, my friend, get to take part in this freakin’ awesome experiment.”

 

Jack turned his head as a large table is wheeled in, holding a cybernetic arm, and various other things.

 

“However to make this work, we’ll have to install a sort of motherboard into your head, and port, an interface, and some cool spyware that’ll help you analyze like that of a computer. Which means taking out one of your eyes. Any particular one you favor?”

 

“Er.. no?” 

 

What was Rhys supposed to say? He was gaining an arm, but losing an eye, and probably other things. He didn’t know what to think yet, but he was terrified. What if they poke the wrong place in his head and end up making him a vegetable? He was trying hard not to show his nerves, so he swallowed thickly.

 

“U-Um.. take out my left eye..?”

 

Jack grinned as he looked to the kid, raising a brow.

 

“Doin’ okay?” He chuckled some. “Don’t worry, cupcake. It’ll be over before ya know it. Ah but, I would advise stayin’ away from water for a bit. Take sponge baths and maybe visit salons to get your hair washed. At least until we make the thing waterproof and get you a plug for the port.”

 

Jack stood and kicked the chair away, Rhys wincing as it skids rather loudly. By now, he was hooked up to all sorts of tubes, and he watched as a nurse marked up his right shoulder and the left half of his face. He was already regretting things. But.. it was too late.

 

“Alright. Time to get started. Lay down and try to not move too much, okay?”

 

Rhys stayed quiet as he nods, bringing his legs up on the table and laying back carefully. He swallowed thickly as a needle was inserted to the IV tube, and a clear liquid was slowly pushed into the vein. 

 

“Good. Now… Sleep tight. If you survive this, I’ll take you to dinner.” The older man leaned over the thinner male with a hum, sending a wink as he gives that grin of his. 

 

“Sounds… Sounds good..” Rhys could feel himself growing tired, drowsy. His eyelids were growing heavy, and his body felt paralyzed. 

 

And soon, everything was black.


	4. Chapter 4

When Rhys first woke up, he felt sick. As if his stomach was about to turn inside out. His mouth was dry, his head hurt like hell, and his whole right side felt like a dead weight.

 

Brows furrowing, he blinked his eye open-- Wait, eye? Where was-- oh right. The room was brighter than he remembered, and his eye was squinted as he looked around at the ceiling briefly, before he slowly moved to push himself up, grunting.

 

He had this headache the size of the moon, and his right shoulder felt practically numb. But even through the loss of feeling, he could feel the weight as he sat up. Huffing, he rubs at his forehead, before he feels the bandage. Feeling with his fingers, he finds that there is a bandage over his left eye and left temple. Judging by the slight texture difference, there was dried blood as well. 

 

He turned his head slowly to look to his right shoulder.

 

Holy crap there was an arm. Which looked pretty awesome! It was black and yellow (expected for the  _ Hyperion _ colors), and also dead. He couldn’t move it, but he could tell that it wasn’t just on his shoulder. No, it was  _ in _ his shoulder. 

 

A door opened, and Rhys whipped his head to look around, until his eyes landed on Jack, who was looking down at some kind of clipboard.

 

“Yeah these numbers are fine, just make sure they don’t go down, yeah? Next time I won’t hesitate to--” The man stopped as he saw Rhys sitting up, promptly thrusting the clipboard into the chest of a scientist behind him. “Go.. Go take care of this crap, ‘kay?”

 

Jack looked to the stranger with a stern glare, and the scientist nodded quickly, hurrying off. Soon, the man was putting on a bright grin, looking back to the thinner man.

 

“Hey, Rhysie! How d’ya feel? Probably like crap, huh? Heh, I did too when I had this puppy installed.” Jack reached up and lightly tapped his left temple, winking his left eye. Now that he realized it, Rhys could just barely see the slight pupil change as he came closer.

 

“Is your eye--” Rhys was cut off with a glass of water being handed to him, one Jack had taken from the bedside table the man was just noticing. He takes it, and chugs the water eager. The CEO, however, nodded.

 

“Yeah. Faux eye, kinda like your new one, but this one just helps me see. Got into an accident a few years back. Lost my eye, gained some nasty but badass scars, and um.. Lost somethin’ else.” The man cleared his throat a bit, and Rhys just barely noticed the slight change in the man’s gaze.

 

It’s a bit quiet for a moment, uncomfortably so. 

 

“Uh.. thanks. For the water.” Rhys speaks up after a small moment, looking to the chrome metal cup. The bed suddenly dips, and the man is looking up to see Jack leaning close. This catches the other by surprise, and he jolts back.

 

“Hey-- Get back here. I want to check somethin’.” Jack rolled his eyes and reached his hands to gently unwrap the bandage over Rhys’ eye. “You’ve been out for a couple days. Some guy asked about ya. Vincent or somethin’--”

 

“Vaughn.”

 

“Right, him. Told him that you were on a business trip. Gonna get a kick outta this, lemme tell ya.” Jack laughs some, sliding the bandage off and letting it drop to Rhys’ lap. Soon the man is reaching into a pocket and pulling out some kind of drive, raising it up to Rhys’ right temple.

 

“‘M gonna turn you on now, alright? Try to not pass out.” The CEO’s voice was almost actually concerned, and Rhys couldn’t breathe as the man pressed close, carefully pressing the drive into the port (god it felt so weird).

 

Rhys felt this weird buzz, before it fades, and he’s blinking rapidly, his left eye stinging as it seemed to come to life. It hurt like hell, that was for sure, but hopefully it was only a one-time thing. Before he can do much, however, a warm palm is capturing his cheek and raising his head. The man is stock-still, eyes wide and cheeks red as Jack gently pulled down his lower lid, gazing at his new eye. Through this new eye, everything was much more… clear, he supposed. He could see the differed shades of blue in Jack’s real eye, the slight digital look of his faux green one. He could notice a slight collection of… foundation? By Jack’s nose?

 

“What--”

 

“Could ya let go of my wrist?” Jack asked, eyebrow raised as his hand retreats. Rhys was confused, and looked down to see his new arm gripping at the man’s wrist. Quickly he let go and jolts his arm back. Which only causes him to slam it into the headboard of the hospital bed.

 

“Shit--” He whips it back forward in shock and accidentally nearly punches Jack. Nearly, because the man was quick enough to grab Rhys’ rogue arm and stop it.

 

“ _ Relax _ , kiddo.” Rhys is shaking a bit, the glass he had held only seconds before now on the floor, and Jack is bringing the arm in front of him. “I might have to recalibrate it… Seems to be a bit too sensitive with movement.” Soon, the older man is mumbling, popping a cover off with ease and digging through with his fingers.

 

The younger man was so shocked, however seeing Jack get lost in trying to figure out what was wrong made him relax slowly. Jack looked so attractive when focused on something, and suddenly Rhys is feeling his heart flutter and his stomach twisting, watching as the other fidgets with his arm.

 

He wanted to reach up and touch the man’s hair, mess up its style, feel how soft it is, see how many grey hairs the man had. But before Rhys can even think of anything more fantasies, Jack was popping the cover back on the letting his arm go, grinning.

 

“There, you should be all good.” 

 

Rhys looked to his new arm, slowly turning the palm upwards and flexing the fingers.

 

“Now you won’t be feelin’ anything til the meds wear off, but there are some pressure sensors so you don’t end up squeezin’ anything too hard. Like a kitten or someone’s hand.” The man stood, tugging the drive from Rhys’ port without any warning and stuffing it into his pocket.

 

“You’ll get a couple days off to get used to the arm, but once you’re back you’ll be goin’ through some tests and stuff, to test that new tech. So.. have fun, kiddo.” A pat was placed to Rhys’ shoulder before Jack was walking towards the door. “I’ll get you a ride.” And with that, Jack disappeared through the other side.

 

Well… Rhys already wanted to see him again.

 

Shit.

 

Rhys officially wanted to bone his boss.


	5. Chapter 5

“Rhys? Where the hell have you been?”

 

Vaughn’s voice was full of worry, and possibly anger. Rhys really couldn’t tell through the phone as he stepped out of the cab and up the steps up his apartment building.

 

“Bro, relax. I was just part of a huge experiment and my head is still pounding. Ugh, maybe not yell into the phone?” The man grumbled, the phone held delicately in his new hand as he fumbled his body for his keys into the building.

 

“I was told you were on a business trip. Just where did you go?”

 

“Dude I was in the labs. You wouldn’t believe it but I got a freaking arm. And I met Handsome Jack!” Rhys exclaimed excitedly, finally letting himself in and up the steps to his place. He unlocked his door and stepped in, locking it behind him and toeing off his shoes.

 

“Wait.. so does that mean we can play video games?”

 

“Not yet. I have a few days off to recuperate and kinda get used to everything, and then I have to go back to go through tests. But I’ll send pictures of the new arm for sure. Don’t tell Yvette, because I’m pretty sure she’s going to freak the hell out. We can go out to lunch sometime next week after the tests, and I’ll tell you everything. For now? I need some damn aspirin. This headache is really killing me..”

 

Something brushed against his foot, and the man looked down with a smile to see Dumpy, his long-haired munchkin maine-coon. The cat let out a couple squeaks, and then it hit him that the little guy probably hasn’t eaten properly while he’d been gone.

 

“Look I gotta go, Dumpy needs something to eat. I’ll text you later, Vaughn!”

 

“Rhys wai--” He hung up before his friend could say anything, making his way over to the little kitchenette and opening a cupboard to tug out the bag of dried cat food.

 

“Here you go, buddy.” Rhys cooed softly, setting down a nice bowl of food for the feline, who was purring and immediately chowing down on the food. Chuckling, he puts the food away and sighed, looking to his new arm and slowly stretching the fingers again.

 

This was all so surreal… 

 

Years ago, he had gone through a terrible breakup with someone, and that had resulted with his ex attempting to run him over. He survived, but his arm had been terribly damaged. The bones had been shattered, unable to be fixed. So to save him from bleeding out through a main artery, he had his arm amputated.

 

Mind you this happened during the age of seventeen. He still had nightmares, still felt paranoid sometimes. Hell, more times than not, he would find himself spacing out, only to jump out and have a panic attack because he thought he was about to be attacked again.

 

Luckily his ex was in prison for attempted vehicular manslaughter.

 

Letting out a shaky breath, the man slowly made his way to the bathroom, setting his phone on the bathroom sink. He leans on the surface, looking at himself.

 

His left eye was no longer brown, but rather an electric blue. He raised his left hand up to tug his eyelid down, leaning forward to get a closer look. It was cool, seeing the thing shift focus and the digital look to it. He hummed, blinking.

 

Suddenly Jack was in front of him, grinning.

 

He screeched and jolted back in surprise, heart-rate increasing. He blinked again, and the image disappeared. Spooked, he rubbed his eyes and looked back at himself. What the hell..?

 

Shaking a bit, he shakes his head and carefully wiped his face with a wet washcloth (making sure to avoid the new port).

 

“I’m going crazy..” 

 

He’d mumbled out, looking to his new arm, before quickly grabbing for his phone and leaving, shutting the lights off and heading to the bedroom. Maybe he was just tired. Yeah.. Tired. He tossed his phone down on a reading chair and climbed into the bed, quickly snuggling up into the covers.

 

He dozed off almost instantly.


	6. Chapter 6

“Alright. First things first. Vitals. We’re gonna make you work out. Lift weights, use a punching bag, make ya run-”

 

“What does running have to do with my hand-eye coordination?”

“... Kiddo we’re testing ya to see if this whole thing has any negative impacts on your health. We gotta see what stress does. We can’t have you short-circuiting and literally frying your brain. Just ain’t happening. You’re the first guy to have this sort of thing-- well, the whole uh..  _ arm _ aspect, anyways.”

 

Jack waved vaguely to Rhys’ arm, and he looks down at it, lifting his arm. For the few days he’s been off, he’s been getting used to having his arm back. Feeling the pressure through the use of circuits and his nerves. He’s also been getting used to his new eye, the way he could weirdly zoom in on things if he focuses on it for a while, or how he could get minimal information off of objects based on what he knew. He found that out when he looked at Dumpy, and go a whole little profile off of him. One of the notes had said ‘Snuggly, loves kisses’, and he’d grown embarrassed. Even though he was the only person able to see them.

 

“So.. it’ll be like going through gym class all over again.” He’d grumbled, and Jack only seemed to snort.

 

“Only if your gym class hooked you up to all sorts of machines and took down every little piece of information your body says, then yeah. Exactly like gym. Lacking the neat dodge-ball tournaments, anyways. Actually, that’s a good test. Test your reflexes. Screw it, I’m addin’ it to the list of tests.”

 

Rhys only groaned, his head rolling some. He  _ hated  _ dodgeball. He’d always get picked last based solely on the fact he was a spindly teen, and always went home with black eyes and bruises up the wazoo.

 

And then he was thrust into the world of exercise, something he’s always hated since early in his life. First was lifting weights. He’d start out with smaller ones, before steadily adding weight. Turns out that with his arm, he could bench over a hundred pounds with the one arm. Then was chin-ups, sit ups, jogging on a treadmill while hooked up to a weird breathing machine, pushups on both hands  _ and  _ one hand, and then the dodgeball.

 

All in all, he was exhausted, and sweating up a damn  _ storm _ . 

 

“I… don’t see…. why all of that… was so necessary..” He pants out, doubled over, his brown hair sticking to his forehead. Jack was looking over something on a clipboard, tossing over a water bottle that his hand immediately shot up to catch. He straightens and makes his way over, chugging down about half the water as Jack began to speak.

 

“Again, testing your vitals, your limits, all sorts of shit. Well, it seems you’re pretty healthy.”

 

“ _ And sexy. _ ”

 

Rhys blinks, nearly choking on his water before looking to the man.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Jack looks over in slight confusion.

 

“What is it, kiddo?” He asked, raising a questioning brow. Rhys blinks, jaw agape, stuttering for a good moment, before he sighs heavily and shakes his head.

 

“Nothing, nothing. Nevermind. Don’t worry about it.” Great. Now he’s hearing things. Maybe this was bad for his mental health? No clue, but there was probably going to be mentality tests. At least it wouldn’t be so physically exhausting.

 

Hopefully, anyways. There really wasn’t a way of knowing by this point. 


	7. Chapter 7

“Alright, kiddo, as you can obviously tell, it's time to get on with the mental exercises. Essentially, they're just brain games, puzzles and general images.

  


               “We'll be hookin’ this baby up to your head to monitor all the lightbulbs that go off in that dorky mind of yours.”

  


               “Hey-”

  


               “ THAT BEING said… Boys? Let's get this show on the road.”.

  


                Jack is grinning a bit, clapping his hands together excitedly as Rhys is lead to sit down at a metal table. The door is behind him, and ahead on the other side of the table sat a T.V. on a metal, moveable trolley. It's plugged in, and as they set up various puzzles- Rubik's cubes, sudoku, riddles, mazes and literal puzzles- he has suction cups about the size of quarters and attached to wires stuck to his forehead and temples.

  


                 “Sir… is all of this really necessary?” Rhys goes to turn his head, and only  _ now _ does he notice the few cameras watching him, as well as a large mirror. Two-way, he presumes. Sheesh, they really wanted to make sure they got every bit of information, huh?

  


                  “Oh, it's necessary, pumpkin. We need to make sure we don't miss a single thing. Don't worry, we'll hear you if you need to use the bathroom or get a drink or somethin’.” Jack knocks on the mirror lightly as he grins, however as Rhys looks at his reflection, he sees… Jack? And himself, but  _ Jack _ sitting on the table, smirking towards him. He looks to the spot the man is apparently sitting, but nothing is there. When he looks back again to the mirror, nothing.

  


                   His mouth runs dry as he looks at  _ actual _ Jack, but the man is too preoccupied with talking to a worker to really notice anything.

  


                   It's not too long until he's left by himself, looking down at the different puzzles. Sighing quietly, he picks up a Rubik's cube. His eye analyzed it, creating the quickest way to solve it for him. He finishes it within a few minutes, the next few puzzles resulting in the same thing. This was pretty boring..

  


                   “ _ Bored, huh? _ ”

  


                   The voice makes him jump, his head whipped around. Just him. Well, until he looks to the television.  _ Jack _ is behind him, arms draped over his shoulders. His voice catches in his throat, and before he can open his mouth to say something, the  _ Jack _ has a non-existent finger over his lips, signalling him to be silent.

  


                    “ _ You don't want these weirdos to think you're crazy or somethin’, do ya, kitten? _ ” Even though no one is there, he  _ swears _ he can hear his voice right next to his ear. His lips tighten into a thin line, and he subtly shakes his head. The man- illusion? Hallucination?- laughs and lifts from Rhys, who cannot feel a thing.

  


                    “ _ Yeah, would've done something better, but the damn nerds limited me- or rather, him. _ ” Rhys watches as the guy disappears from the screen by walking to the left, before returning and heading off the other side.

  


                    He was pacing. Who was he? Was he finally going crazy under all the stress? Probably. He honestly wouldn't be that surprised, to say the least.

  


                   “ _ Hm? Ah, shit, hold on. _ ” The  _ man _ comes back on screen and seems to tap his eye. Rhys feels a jolt and a surge of electricity. He blinks rapidly, raising a hand to rub at his eye. When his hand pulls away, he blinks a couple more times.

  


                   He looks to the T.V., only to be greeted with a grinning… blue Jack? He looks like a projection, with pixels floating around him, but it's definitely Jack. 

  


                   “ _ There we go. Alright. Now, I'm sure you're wondering what the hell is going on-”  _ He's cut off as the door opens, and Rhys looks behind himself. 

  


                    “Hey, pumpkin, what's going on? You seem out of it, and your brain activity is goin’ off the damn charts.” Unsurprisingly, it's  _ actual _ Jack now, the other one having disappeared once again..

  


                     “I uh.. sorry. I'm just tired, I guess? I keep having hallucinations or something.” Rhys seems to pinch the bridge of his nose before rubbing his eyes. “Keep seeing you in reflections as a hologram now? It's weird.” He finally looks to Jack again, who is staring at him.

  


                     “Get up and follow me.  _ Now. _ ” His voice is firm, and Rhys immediately stands. He takes the stuff off his forehead and quickly scrambles after his boss, who is walking rather fast.

  


                     “Sir? What's going on?”

  


                     “Dunno, kid, but from the sound of it, you have some kind of virus.”

  


                      “A  _ virus _ ?”

  


                      “Calm down. Virtually harmless unless you give it control. Had a guy create an A.I. to take over on days I can't be bothered to come in. But the guy, Nakeyama I think? Yeah, the damn idiot made it  _ too _ much like me, and it's self-aware. It must've programmed itself into the chip I put in ya. Sneaky bastard. Would be impressed if I wasn't so damn annoyed.” Jack has a look of irritation on his face as he explains this, and Rhys reaches to touch the port on his temple by his eyebrow. Weird…

  


                       “ _ Listen to  _ this  _ guy. Thinks he's so damn smart. _ ” Rhys snaps his head over to see the projection walking beside him, looking rather amused. “ _ If he was, he wouldn't have given me access to every computer in the building. _ ” He laughs. Rhys glances to the real Jack, who is completely unaware.

  


                        “ _ Oh, trust me, he only  _ wishes  _ he could be in your head like this. I know what he's thinking. Know how?  _ We're the same.” 

  


                        Rhys swallows thickly, and just looks forward. The projection now going on about something uninteresting.

  


                        “Sir… he's uh… here..” He says nervously, and the real Jack looks at him for a brief moment as he presses a button to summon an elevator.

  


                        “Since he's active, it'll be easier to find him in your program and take him out.” They're stepping into the elevator now, and the projection rolls his eyes, raising a hand to mimic a mouth moving as the real Jack spoke. Rhys has to stifle a snicker by pinching his thigh through his pants, but he still can't help the slight grin. The projection sees this and sends him a playful wink, as well as a grin of his own.  _ That _ causes Rhys to grow a bit red and turn his head away. Actual Jack is on his phone, scowling a bit.

  


                        The elevator dings, and Rhys seems to finally realize they're on their way to Jack's infamous office. Scratch that, they're  _ in _ his office, the damn elevator ran directly into the place. Which, quite frankly, seemed highly inconvenient to anyone who wanted to get to the roof for whatever reason. It would mean having to ask Jack if they can pass through his office to get to the roof, however no one ever seems to go there anyway, or  _ want _ to go there. The whole process would be pretty tedious.

  


                       So, in short, while it was impressive, it was a dick move.

  


                       “Sit.”

  


                       Jack points to his chair.  _ His chair _ . Rhys doesn't have to be told twice, sitting down a little  _ too  _ eagerly.

  


                       “ _ Comfy, huh? Yeah, had it custom made. Softest stuffing to make it extra plush. It's also got back massagers and chilled cup holders. _ ”

  


                       It's not actual Jack that's talking, no,  _ he's _ got a huge scowl on his face as he leans to type at his computer, soon grabbing a port plug and pushing it into Rhys’ port. No, it's projection Jack, leaning against the huge oak desk with his arms crossed. The guy chuckles.

  


                       “ _ This idiot really things he can get rid of me that easily, huh _ ?” Ignoring him, Rhys looks to his legit boss.

  


                      “So, is this going to hurt?”

  


                      “No clue, Rhysie, but no worries. You won't lose your memory or whatever… probably.” Jack is focused on his computer, looking through files that are apparently in Rhys’ brain. Then, a video window pops up, and he blinks. As does the video.

  


                      “Oh sweet. A live feed.”

  


                      Rhys looks toward the projection, and now Jack can see him through the live feed.

  


                      “Ah, there he is. That handsome bastard. What a dick.” Jack leans back down to the computer, and the projection is frowning.

  


                     “ _ Takes one to know one. _ ”  _ Jack _ grumbles, before flickering and disappearing. Rhys looks around, searching, but the projection is actually gone. For now.

  


                      “Can't find his file, so I'm putting an antivirus in your program- I know it's nice, but stop staring at my ass.” Jack looks over his shoulder with a slight grin, and Rhys is blushing like mad. Right, he'd forgotten there was still a live feed going on. Jack closed the video and brings up a downloading bar.

  


                      “Alright, this is going to take a while, so I'm gonna go… take care of some shit. Don't move, don't remove the plug. Just… browse YouTube or Facebook or something to keep busy.” Jack ruffles his hair, and Rhys let out a whine of complaint, raising his hands to fix his hair. The older man laughs as he makes his leave, sending a final finger gun and wink as he stepped into the elevator. Rhys stares at the doors as they close. He sits back, staring at the computer.

  


                      Now what?


	8. Chapter 8

For the first hour, Rhys browsed the internet. Cat videos, stories of unsolved crimes, tutorials.. And when he looked at the download? Barely even ten percent had downloaded. Great.. Seems like even if it was an expensive company the internet and download speeds were absolute shit. Probably because he knows a few employees liked to download large files of porn and whatnot on their phones or personal laptops.

He let out an audible groan, allowing his head to fall hard against the desk.

"Ow..." He mumbles, rolling his head to the side with a pathetic whine. Why was it taking so long-

His eyes catch a photo frame, and it's of a little girl with bright blue eyes, dark black hair, and was smiling at the viewer with a small peace sign being held up with her fingers. Rhys sits up, carefully reaching for the picture and lifting it with caution. Did Jack have a daughter? That was somewhat surprising, why didn't he ever talk about her?

He turns the frame over and unclasps the back, setting it aside and pulling out the picture soon after. There's writing on the back.

 

> **"Angel, my little princess.**
> 
> **Daddy will always love you."**
> 
>  

"Angel.." Rhys mumbles, turning the image over in his hands. From the sound of the note..

 

" _Leukemia._ "

Jack's voice makes him screech, but he relaxes with a heavy sigh unpon realizing it's only the hollogram, sending an annoyed glance toward him.

"What?" He questioned, slight irritation in his voice as his brows furrow, looking back to the picture of the girl.

" _Angel died from Leukemia a few years ago. Notice how he doesn't spend time in here? Doesn't like lookin' at her. Feels like he failed her._ " Jack isn't even looking at the phote himself, he's leaning against the desk again, arms crossed as he stares down at the floor, eyes unfocused.

" _Her mother died at childbirth, and the cancer showed up one day while she was in class. First grade. She vomited pretty badly and passed out. Ambulance was called and the news came the next day after the results came back. She managed to live for a few more years before... Yeah.._ " Jack waves a hand, and photos upon photos pop on the computer. Jack and his daughter laughing, having ice cream, at the beach... And then it's just ngel in a hospital bed, coloring, sleeping, reading, watching cartoons..

A video pops up, playing automatically.

' _Alright, princess, tell me what we're gonne do once you get out of this place.'_

It's Jack, and he's aiming the camera at Angel, who's coloring in a unicorn.

' _Daddy an' I are gonna go find a unicorn!_ ' She's grinning toward the camera, before lifting up her picture. ' _We're gonna name her Butt Stallion!'_ She giggles as Jack laughs. It sounds... warm, genuine. Rhys feels his chest tighten, throat clenching up.

' _Butt Stallion, huh? That's one hell of a name, baby..'_ Angel nods, starting to color at her picture again, before a hand reaches to itch at the breathing tube at her nose.

' _We're also gonna go see mommy and show her I kicked cancer's ass.'_ She's beaming proudly, and Jack can only chuckle, though this time it sounds a bit more forced.

 _'That's right, pumpkin. We'll tell her all about how you kicked cancer's ass.'_ Jack's voice is definitely a bit sadder, but the video stops.

 

" _She died a few days after that video was made. The cancer had gotten too aggressive for her, and he knew letting her go was the better idea than making this drag on for longer and make her spend her whole childhood in the hospital."_

Rhys isn't crying, someone's just cutting onions somewhere. Quietly, he returns the picture to the frame, putting it back beside the computer where it had been before.

"I'm.. really sorry to hear that." He mumbles, wiping at the tears rolling down his cheeks, quietly closing all the photos on the computer. He stares at the anti-virus download.

_"Might as well let it keep going, there's no point for me being here anymore. I was originally a software built for Angel, but she died before I was completed. He's drinking himself to death to try and forget her. Hell, I'd do the same damn think if it meanth I wouldn't have to remember her smiling face."_

Rhys looks from the projection, then to the download. He promptly cancels it.

"I don't know about you, but like hell I'm going to just let you get  _deleted_ like this. You may be an A.I., but you still technically have  _feelings,_ and I'm not the kind of guy to just kill like that." The brunet frowns, working at the computer to clear it and make sure it was back to the way it was before. Jack is staring in surprise at Rhys, truly dumbfounded that the idiot ould do something like this. He's speechless for a moment.

"I think there was a reason I was offered this job-"

 _"Lack of an arm or a life._ "

"-and a reason I accepted so easily-"

_"Money and to get laid, probably."_

Rhys frowns, staring at a shrugging Jack. He sighs.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Jack- er-  _you_ needing to see that just because Angel is going doesn't mean life loses all meaning." The man has this look that seems to scream determination, and Jack can only roll his eyes.

" _Listen, kiddo, if I know anyone better than myself, it's myself. He ain't gonna just let you do anything' even remotely cheesy. Nevermind the thought of talking about Angel. It just ain't gonna happen unless he's drunk, and he never turns down an opportunity to drink."_ The projection chuckles, and Rhys suddenly has an idea. Jack  _immediately_ sees that look.

" _No. **Hell** no. You are  **not** getting me drunk to talk about  **feelings**. You're supposed to get drunk to get laid!"_ The man exclaims, following after Rhys as the slightly taller man heads for the elevator, looking rather smug.

"Jack is  _so_ gonna thank me for this."

" _No, he's going to **kill** you for this."_

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter (i think it's short? idk), I promise to make the next longer. If you have any questions, my tumblr is @bruhnea

"-ys. Rhys.  _Rhys._ "

"Hm? Oh, hey Vaugh! Long time no see." Rhys is grinning, sitting in the building's cafeteria with a caramel latte, the name on the cup spelled as 'Reese'. Vaugh looks unamused, annoyed, rather. He sighs and pulls out the second chair from the small table, sitting down and leaning against the table.

"Where the hell have you been? I haven't heard from you since you called a few days ago! Yvette and I are getting worried. She would be here, but she got called to a meeting." One of Vaughn's hands reach up to adjust his glasses, and Rhys waves a dismissive hand.

"Bro,  _chill._ I've been taking part in tests on my new arm and eye." He raises the prosthetic right arm, and Vaughn's eyes nearly bug out out of his skull, the man immediately reaching over the tabe to grab Rhys' hand and push the sleeve of his sweater up. He nearly knocks the latte over in the process, luckily Rhys manages to move it out of the way.

" _This_ must be the new tch  _Hyperion_ plans on releasing next month. I've heard rumors but I-I-I didn't think they were  _real_." Vaughn is laughing a bit in amazement, and Rhys can only snicker, letting the guy nerd out a bit.

 

" _Sheeh. He's a bigger nerd than you are, kiddo._ " It's holo-Jack, Rhys can see the arms around his shoulders. He can't feel him, and for a moment he panics, thinking Vaughn will see. But then he remembers only he can, thanks to the technical eye he has, and it has him calm down a bit. At least, until he turns his head slightly and sees Jack is quite literally  _right there_. He's grinning in amusement from watching Rhys' friend.

He feels his cheeks heat up, facing forward rather quickly to avoid staring. It was still technically  _Jack_ , and therefore is still flustered him, even if he wasn't physical in any sort of way.  ~~How disappointing.~~

" _Just thought I'd let you know that the asshole you plan on getting drunk is leaving for the day, if you still wanted to do that."_

At that, Rhys perked up and quickly pulls his arm back, nearly knocking his chair over as he stands abruptly, leaving his latte on the table.

"Wh--"

"Vaughn, I'm sorry, but I just realized I have something important I need to do. I'll text you later!" He's raicing off without another word to his friend, who is just sitting there, a little hurt and confused.

"... Okay..."

Holo-Jack is laughing, floating along-side Rhys as he rushes out of the cafeteria and along the halls.

" _Man, you really think you can make Jack enjoy life again, huh? Some poor bastard you are._ " He retorts, looking at his nails casually. Rhys can only roll his eyes.

"Well,  _someone_ has to try. He deserves better than drowning himself in alcohol and killing his kidneys. He needs to  _talk_ to someone. And even though I don't have the doctorate for it, I'm willing to play the therapist."

" _Christ, what a death wish you have."_ The projection sighs, shaking his head. " _There he is, you suicidal maniac._ " He points out, and Rhys' boss is heading out the door, talking on his phone.

The lanky man forces his gangly legs to move faster, nearly running into people and tripping over his feet as he races to finally snag Jack's sleeve in his hand, who stops mid-sentence and stares at him, raising a brow.

"Yeah... I'm gonna have to call you back." Jack hangs up the phone, shoving it into his back pocket as he turns a bit toward Rhys now. "What the hell are you doing, pumpkin?" Rhys can't answer right away, he's hunched over and wheezing, still holding tightly onto the older man's sleeve.

"You... Me... drinks... celebrate.." He gasps out, finally starting to steady his breathing as he stands straight, releasing the man's clothing. "Let's go get drinks, unless you're busy? We can celebrate how well the tech is working out, celebrate your hard work." He offers a warm smile, and Jack stares for a brief moment. Then, he sighs, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"Guess I can't say no to that. Yeah, alright. It's a hell of a lot better than drinking alone in my penthouse." He snorts, and Rhys internally winces. Jack was definitely an alcoholic, especially if he did that every day after work. Angel's death really must have hit him hard. It almost made him wonder how he was before she'd died. How long ago was it? Maybe he could look her up on online obituaries, though somehow he doubts it.

He's following his boss, the projection having had disappeared for now. Good.

"How's the arm? No problems? No glitches in the eye?" Jack voices up, turning his head toward Rhys, who blinks from his thoughts and shakes his head with a slight hum.

"Shoulder muscles hurt from the weight, but so far so good. My buddy Vaughn geeked out over the arm. I'm pretty sure once you have these and the other limbs in production,  _Hyperion_ will be a lot more popular around the globe. Not that we aren't already. There are a lot of uses, a lot of opportunities for these." He raises his robotic hand, opening the palm a bit. Jack nods in agreement.

"Yeah, but I gotta make sure none of the other companies like  _Dahl_ get ahold of my tech. Could make the competition hard." Jack stops at a bright yellow camero with black stripes across the hood. 

"Get in." The car is unlocked and he climbs in, Rhys soon scrambling to get in as well after having snapped out of his gawking. Great car, terrible color. At least the inside was nice, plush seats instead of leather. He looks to the rearview mirror and notices a tiny picture of a toddler. Probably Angel...

He buckles in, and they're off soon after. To say he was nervous was definitely an understatement, how hard would it be to get Jack drunk? He probably had a pretty high tolerance after all these years. Maybe he could challenge him to a drinking game or something. Well, he was definitely going to try his best. He was going to need a lot of luck to pull this off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be a long one, folks.

" _Mad Moxxi's_... Why does that sound familiar?" Rhys scrunched his nose up as he shuts the door of the camero carefully. Jack does not follow such care, slamming the driver's door shut and circling around to the sidewalk with a bright grin.

"Because Moxxi, the owner, is my ex-girlfriend. One of the sexiest exes to ever exist, too." He slams a palm against Rhys' back, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He can only grunt in response as he hesitantly followed the older man.

"Isn't it a bad idea to be around an ex? Doesn't she hate your guts or something?"

"Oh, she does, but she can't do a damned thing because I protect her from  _her_ exes, believe it or not. She married a mafia boss. Asshole keeps tryin' to get her back, but he stays away thanks to me. Oh, and I fund her son's mechanic shop and her daughter's junkyard. Do  _not_ ask how old she is, she just might try to poison you." Jack laughs a small bit to the way Rhys looks at hearing that, opening the bar's door and making his way in. It's dimly lit with beat-heavy music playing. Rhys quickly follows. "Don't oggle her, either, she has enough idiots that do that daily, including me- Mox! Long time no see, sugartits!" Jack calls. Rhys grimaces at the glare the woman named Moxxie sends.

She's certainly an attractive woman, with brown hair, sharp makeup, and a  _very_ revealing dress with fishnet stockings to match. Upon closer inspection, she has a heart tatto on her left... breast. Visibly soley because of the amount of cleavage she decided to show, either by choice or by chance with her clothes. Jack hits Rhys' chest, snapping him from his staring.

"Go find us a seat, kiddo. I'll go grab our drinks."

"Appletini for me, please." He requests, although he immediately regrets it with the questioning look sent his way from Jack. He can only give a sheepish smile in response, before quickly scurrying away to find a booth in a far corner. He'd say he hates the taste of regular beef, but he doesn't want to seem like more of a wuss in from of Jack than he probably already did.

" _An appletini? What are you, som white chick? God, you are_ so  _damn nerdy._ " The hologram is sitting in the booth he was heading for now, and Rhys groans, sitting down and slamming his forehead against the table. Seems he had a habit of doing this...

"I  _knoooooow_. Don't remind me." He whined, crossing his arms over his head in embarrassment.  _Jack_ is cackling with laughter, head thrown back. Rhys can feel his ears burning from the humiliation, but he doesn't have much time to talk with the projection, as he hears something being set down, and then a hand nudging his shoulder.

"Here's your girly-ass drink, Rhysie. Mox made it special for ya. By special, she made it with a little more enthusiasm than when she makes drinks for the occasional girl I bring her." Jack snickers, sitting with that grin still settled on his face.

"Thanks.." Rhys sits up slowly, taking the martini glass in his hand and lifting it, taking a small sip. It was good, better than the martinis he's had at other bars across the city.

* * *

 

It's awkward.

Painfully so. It's too quiet between them. It's too quiet for too long, Rhys has started tapping the martini glass as he chewed the inside of his cheek, scrambling through his brain to try and figure out what the hell he could talk about with Jack to try and pass the time. What the hell was there to talk about between them? The weather was dull, Jack was  _definitely_ not nearly as drunk as he should be in order to talk about Angel, so  _that's_ off the damn table. He's practically sweating in his seat, yet Jack was as cool as ever.

He's on his phone, drinking his scotch and probably looking through e-mails or answering texts. 

"Dating anyone?" He finally asks, looking up to the younger male across from him. Rhys visibly relaxes, shoulders dropping a small bit as he leans back, exhaling a slow sigh of relief.

"Ah, no. I did have a girlfriend a few years ago, but she kinda didn't like the whole one-arm thing, y'know? Bit of a mood killer." He mused, chuckling quietly to himself as he raises his drink, sipping at it.

"Huh. And here I thought you were some tall twink." Jack says casually, shrugging as he downs the rest of his scotch. Rhys chokes on his drink, quickly raising a hand to cough into, only speaking when he isn't dying.

"I'm- I'm sorry,  _what?_ "

"I swear to God, I thought you were a gay twink. Never took you as the type of guy to be straight." Jack raises a hand to somewhat defend himself. "I saw the way you looked and acted and  _immediately_ thought 'Yup, this guy sucks cock.'. Thought you were cute, too." The man finishes, looking back to his phone. Rhys' face is burning red, he's never spoken about this before, never thinking it would be possible to talk about it with his  _boss_! This was so damn weird!

" _Honestly, I thought the same damn thing, kitten._ "  _Jack_ is watching with a grin, leaning back next to him with his arm laying across the back of the booth, his other arm on the table.

"I'm  _not_ straight." Rhys blurts out, looking down at his drink. "I've been bisexual since high school, but it's sort of hard to find someone to date given the circumstances. Never got to experience with a guy, anyway, but I've been wanting to.." It wasn't like he was innocent in any sort of way, he's seen porn and has experimented with himself, but he'd rather  _not_ tell either Jack about that.

"Cute. You're an anal virgin." Jack seems to look toward Rhys, as if trying to read his mind. "Am I right about you being a twink, then?" He teased cooly, and as Rhyse lowers his head a small bit without saying a word, he howls with laughter. "Holy  _shit_ cupcake, that's freakin'  _hilarious_." He's dissolving into giggles now. "We need to get you laid now, just to show you exactly what you're missin'."

"I'm gonna grab us some more drinks, so sit tight." The man is still chuckling quietly to himself as he stands, heading for the bar. The younger male glances to the faux Jack beside him, who is only grinning deviously. He groans and leans back against the booth, head tipped back and eyes shutting. This was going to be a long night, he could already tell.

* * *

"-so then, the idiot gets up  _butt freakin' naked_ onto the table. The investors are laughin' their asses off and they were sold. That's how I got a major company in Japan to invest in  _Hyperion_ a few years ago." Jack is struggling to not laugh, and Rhys on the other hand can't fucking breathe, he's laughing so damn hard. His stomach and cheeks hurt, he's got tears in his eyes. As he settles into stupid giggles, he wipes at the tears streaking down his cheeks.

"I find that pretty hard to believe." He snorts. He's on his third martini, and Jack is on his sixth scotch. It's evident he's more drunk than earlier, his cheeks pink from the alcohol and is talking more freely. Slowly, they calm down. Holo-Jack is just watching the two in utter amusement, who knew he could be so damn funny when he was drunk?

"Y'know.. I haven't had this much fun for about... ten years." Jack hums quietly, tapping at his empty scotch glass. Rhys stares for a moment, staying quiet. He can feel himself warming up more, and he knows it's not the alcohol. "I used to have a daughter. Her name was Angel." The man's smile falls. 

"She'd be eighteen now, probably an artist or dancer of some kind. She was always so damn talented like that. She could've done  _so much_ with her life. Could've gone to college, taken over the company." Jack raises a hand, fingers running through his greying brown hair, messing it up a bit as he stares down at the empty glass still. He sighs heavily. "Wish I'd had the money then, to afford better treatment, to do  _something_ to make my little girl happy. To see her smile and hear her laugh again."

Rhys pressed his lips ito a thin line, reaching his hand over to rest it on Jack's forearm.

"I'm sure you did the best you could at the time, Jack. People die all the time from different things. This wasn't your fault, and you shouldn't go on thinking it was." His voice is calm, and he needs to remind himself  to not let it slip that he'd already learned about Angel. He had Jack's trust, and he didn't want to lose it already.

"I failed her, Rhys. I didn't try hard enough. The cancer got to her and I.. I lost my baby girl.." The man chokes on a breath, eyes squeezing shut. He was trying not to cry, and Rhys can feel his heart breaking. He decides it's time to take Jack home.

Standing from the booth, he circles around to Jack's side, gently grabbing his arm and tugging.

"Let's get you home, big guy. I'll drive." He coaxes softly, and thankfully, Jack nods a small bit. He climbs out and once he stands, he leans heavily against Rhys. He lazily tugs out his wallet and drops a wad of cash to pay for drinks and tip before stuffing it back away. Rhys allows Jack to lean against him, his prosthetic arm around the older man's waist to support him as one of Jack's arms find its way around his neck. As they head for the exit, he sends an apologetic smile toward Moxxi, who can only roll her eyes and send a small wave.

"Rhysie.. you're such a great guy. Got such a nice ass too." Jack grins, and Rhys can only grow red in the face as he pushes the bar door open, leading the man out carefully. He pretends not to hear the comment about his ass, figuring Jack only said it because he had alcohol in his system. It would be bad to assume the man had any interest in him. He was probably just horny and lonely. Really, he can't blame Jack all too much, but trying to sleep with  _him_ would probably end bad. He's never experienced a one-night stand, much preferring to have sex while in a committed relationship. Not that it would happen to begin with!

Jack is now just babbling, attempting to use pick-up lines on him a bit too loudly as they head for the camero. The younger man uses his free hand to feel Jack's pockets, ignoring a comment about him getting handsy as he retrieves the car keys. Once they're located and pulled out, he unlocks the car and opens the passenger door.

"Buckle in, Jack. I'm take you home." He helps the other in before closing the door, taking a moment to scrub over his face. This was a bit ridiculous. He almost regrets taking him out to drink now.

" _You know he isn't actually drink, right? He's just acting that way so he has an excuse to get extra flirty and get handsy with you. Works all the time."_

Rhys nearly jumps out of his skin, whipping around to point a finger at the projection.

"You have  _got_ to stop doing that!" He hissed. "One of these days you're going to give me a damn heart-attack. Do you wan't that? Do you want to die with me?"

" _Kinda, yeah. Not much to do when I'm like this, anyway. Hey, see if you can stick me in your laptop or something. I'm curious to know what kind of porn you're into." Jack_ is laughing quietly to himself as Rhys rolls his eyes and circles the car, climbing into the driver's side and buckling in. He starts the car.

"You're going to have to tell me where you live." He points out, watching as Jack fiddles with the radio.

"Nah... Just take me to your place, kitten." He starts to bob his head along to a turn that comes on, and Rhys brings his hands up to rubs tiredly over his face. Great. Now he had to take Jack to his shitty apartment. Because  _that's_ going to end well.

"Fine, but I'm kicking you out in the morning whether you like it or not." And with that, he pulls from the curb, practically glaring at the road.

 

 


End file.
